What are the advantages of learning guitar online with FretHub, as opposed to taking lessons with a private tutor?

The most obvious advantage is the price! A professional private tutor will charge anything from £20 ($30) to £50 ($80) for an hour of guitar tuition. Compare that to paying as little as £6 per month for unlimited access to hundreds of video lessons, taught by two professional guitarists with over 50 years of combined teaching experience and you’ll see how much money you could save. Our monthly subscription fee costs roughly the price of a set of strings or your favourite monthly guitar magazine.

With FretHub, you’re free to learn at your own pace, without the pressure you might get from a private tutor. Like most things in life, you get out what you put in – so regular practice will allow you to progress quicker. We’re always here to help and answer questions.

Pause and review the videos regularly. Our lessons vary in length, but don’t underestimate how much information you can learn from just a short clip. You could learn as much from a ten minute video lesson as you could from a one hour session with a private tutor, since a large proportion of any private lesson is usually spent going over and over the same information until your teacher is confident that you’ve got it.

Please note that we don’t wish to undermine private tutors. We follow a similar path as most good and qualified teachers so FretHub can be a useful addition or alternative to private lessons.

What are the advantages of learning guitar online with FretHub, as opposed to learning from video lessons on sites such as YouTube?

The main reasons are structure, continuity and reliability of information. Video websites such as YouTube are literally saturated with an overwhelming amount of information and video lessons which can often be intimidating, misleading, or just plain confusing. It can be hard to know where to look for your next lesson, since there are no real courses to be found on those sites.

As much as it pains us to say this, the hard truth is the vast majority of guitar lessons on YouTube are just plain wrong! There. We said it! Many are taught by inexperienced players, so there are a lot of learner guitarists out there picking up bad playing habits from bad teachers. Both FretHub tutors have learned from the best and know what to deliver and when.

By joining Frethub, you will have unlimited access to a complete guitar course featuring hundreds of video lessons and downloadable backing tracks. Plus you’ll be taught by two professional guitarists with over 50 years of combined teaching experience. Our monthly subscription fee costs roughly the price of a set of strings or your favourite monthly guitar magazine. Plus there’s no contract, so you can cancel any time.

Are your lessons suitable for both acoustic and electric guitar?

Yes, especially if you’re a beginner. Although the majority of our lessons are taught on electric guitars, the same rules apply for both acoustic and electric instruments: The notes are the same, as is the tuning. Certain, more advanced techniques, such as string-bending, are easier to execute on an electric guitar, but you can certainly cover a great deal of ground studying our lessons on an acoustic guitar.

Do you use Tabs in your lessons?

At Frethub, we’ve cut out the need to read guitar Tab, since everything is explained and broken down thoroughly, in a note-for-note fashion. Whilst tablature can be a convenient shortcut to working out your favourite song or solo, nothing beats developing a good ear. Training your ear is one of the most rewarding gifts a musician can have.
As harsh as it may sound, a lot of free tab sites out there are just plain wrong, since the majority of them have been put together by inexperienced players, so I wouldn’t suggest trusting anything you come across on tab sites 100%, although they can be handy as reference.

When we started Frethub, we opted not to provide tabs in favour of breaking things down note-for-note, since this is how we learned to play and we feel that it’s easier to memorise and internalise licks and solos this way. It’s just a different way of learning, which may take a little bit of getting used to, but we feel it’s easier in the long run.
Guitar tuition DVD Companies employ a similar approach, cutting out the need for tab.

We have seen several tuition videos that provide tab, but they tend not to slow down the licks in enough detail. The tutor may play a lick once or twice and then refer you to the tab.

We currently have a 3 day, no obligation free trial at Frethub right now, so you’re free to check it out and cancel within 3 days if you discover that it doesn’t work for you.

Where do I start learning with FretHub?

You can begin learning with FretHub, whatever your previous experience. Perhaps you’ve never before picked up a guitar, or have only been playing for a short time. Maybe you’ve been playing for several years and are already an accomplished player. Whichever stage you’ve reached in your playing, you’ll find plenty of lessons here to help you become the musician you’ve always wanted to be.

If you’re an absolute beginner, the first lesson in Level 1 will get you started from scratch. If you’ve already begun playing guitar, take some time to preview the many lessons on this site in order to gauge your current standard and join us where you feel comfortable.

Levels 1 to 10 were designed to serve as a foundation course for contemporary guitar. It’s a crash-course that we hope will get you playing well in a relatively short space of time, since we’ve cut out any unnecessary exercises and just kept the valuable stuff. Whether you’re into rock, metal, country, blues, jazz or acoustic, the techniques and approaches presented in these lessons apply to all styles of modern music. We teach you all the essential chords, scales and techniques you need to be able to play in a band, write your own songs or to simply make good music at home.

Our Intermediate and Advanced modules will take your playing even further, giving you a comprehensive knowledge of the modal system as well as teaching you hundreds of exciting licks, lots of different soloing techniques, tricks and rhythm styles. These modules are ever expanding and we are filming new material and updates for these sections all the time.

I’d like to learn to play guitar, but I can’t read music. Do I need to?

You don’t need to be able to read music to learn with FretHub, since everything is explained thoroughly, in a note-for-note fashion. Obviously, the ability to read music is a valuable skill to have, but it’s not essential when studying with FretHub.

You will, however, learn new terminology with us naturally over time and develop a working knowledge of simple music theory, without actually having to read the dots.

How much time do I need to put into practicing?

Obviously, like most things in life, you get out what you put in, so the more practice you’re able to do, the quicker you’ll improve. Having said that, most of us lead busy lives, so it’s not always possible to put in the amount of practice time we’d like to. Thankfully, you’re free to learn at your own pace with FretHub and nobody is judging or testing you.

Beginners: Practicing for as little as 20 minutes a day, every day, will provide quicker results than cramming a whole week of practice into 1 or 2 days.
When experiencing difficulty, simply slow down. This is practically a fail-safe solution for any problems arising during practice.

Maintain positive attitude towards practice. Rome wasn’t built in a day. It can take years to master an instrument. You WILL get there with regular practice. Have patience in the short term and perseverance in the long term.

Ultimately, learning to play any instrument should be a fun journey. Don’t be discouraged by how much there is to learn. We never really stop learning, but that’s what makes music infinitely rewarding. Be patient, work hard, but most of all, enjoy yourself!

I’ve only just started learning to play guitar. I enjoy it, but sometimes my fingertips hurt. Is there a way to avoid this?

Beginners: Do not play through pain! When starting out, it’s perfectly natural to experience some discomfort, especially in your fingertips. If this becomes too unbearable, simply put your guitar down for one day. Rest assured, your fingertips will toughen over time.

I’m interested in learning to play online with FretHub, but I haven’t yet bought my first guitar. Can you offer any advice?

Good news! 20 years ago, beginners found it difficult to buy a good budget instrument. These days, however, it’s almost impossible to get hold of a bad guitar. Anything by Squire or Yamaha, new or used, would be a great investment to get you started, although there are many other good, affordable guitars on the market. Ask your local music outlet for more details.

Is Bobby both left and right-handed?

Will you make me jump through hoops if I decide that FretHub isn’t for me?

No way! For whatever reason, if you decide at any stage not to keep your membership, cancelling is easy. You can also suspend an existing monthly membership, or swap it for a discounted annual one. There are more membership-related questions and answers here.